Noisy Guitar Pickups? Here's How to Easily Fix Them!

Nearly every guitar player has experienced noisy pickups. In this video Gene shows how to deal with two types: noise caused by a faulty grounding, and microphonics caused by the pickup vibrating.
0:00 What are 'microphonics'?
03:43 Wax potting a pickup
08:11 Adding a ground wire
10:00 Final sound demo
Products used in this video include:
Solomon SL-30 Soldering Station
www.stewmac.com/item/0501
PEAKMETER Digital Multimeter
www.stewmac.com/item/3607
Fine-gauge Wire Stripper
www.stewmac.com/item/1606
StewMac Soldering Aids
www.stewmac.com/item/0521
Stay Hot Solder Tip Cleaner
www.stewmac.com/item/0514
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StewMac has everything you need to repair, build or maintain your guitars.
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[@hanovergreen4091]

This was absolutely fantastic! This dood needs to be the next main face of StewMac. Not too slow and not too fast speaking (for me of course) and doesn't frame the presentation as if we are children. The set looks great BTW. Best Regards.

[@chocolatecookie8571]

‘…and doesn’t frame as if we are children.’ Yes, you’re right 😂👌🏻

[@rauschguitars]

Lovely old guitar and a solid repair job. Well done!

[@kurtwederquist5880]

Gene, I am getting so much great information from your videos!! I really appreciate you sharing such useful information!!

[@picksalot1]

Good video and explanation of the potting procedure and tips.

[@danielibnz]

Great tips... I always thought (to myself) that the steel strings should be grounded; however, this is the first time I see an explicit reference to this. My Pedal Steel Guitar was experiencing the grounding situation and I was using an external ground cable to patch this up the best I could. Thanks for sharing

[@sedition4267]

This works great. I did this with a humbucker on a kit guitar I built, and the sound was great. Feedback was much more controlable, even with distortion on...much like an active electronic EMG.

[@wbfaulk]

"This old guitar was handed down to a client of mine by his grandfather." == "These repairs are not economically sound decisions." Seriously, though, I hope your client is reminded of his grandpa every day.

[@CarlosPereira-mf8ls]

Love! That’s what a guitar needs! Amazing job!

[@everettnapihaa6111]

Silverstone...wow! It sounds fantastic and groovy after that great restore! I'm 67yrs old Rock and Metal musician and remember (being a drummer first) playing Silverstone, Aria, Harmony back in 1969 when I was 14 yrs old and one incident my friends were trying to make me stop playing because we were on 'acid' and I figured out feeding back like Hendrix and I was unknowingly 'blowing their minds' with the volume and whammy hammering! Ha-ha ha! I also recall in the 80's how Eddy Van Halen described how he ruined many pickups before he could get it right. Peace to you sir! Sub.

[@johnsikora6043]

Great video. I definitely learned something watching this.

[@lespauloholic]

Great video Gene!!

[@edwardcahill9629]

I've always wondered what "potting" meant with pickups. Great video Gene!

[@jacksoncroyce6063]

Another great StewMac video. I have my guitars playing really well thanks to this channel.

[@bluegrassbarry]

Ya me too eh..!?!

[@stewmac]

Great to hear that! Thanks for tuning in!

[@deacondaves]

Thats what it's all about!

[@wbfaulk]

That's an interesting tip on preheating the pickup. It seems like the wax could freeze on a cold pickup and block the ingress points, but surely it would remelt as the pickup comes up to temperature equilibrium with the wax.

[@stratocactus]

@@NubsWithGuns Come on don't be that guy. Everyone understood what he meant by "freeze" (solidify).

[@stewmac]

Yes that's true! The wax will harden around the pickup until it all reaches proper temperature. Preheating is not necessary, it just shortens the time the pickup is submerged. Thanks!

[@digitalspecter]

@@NubsWithGuns "Freezing is a phase transition where a liquid turns into a solid when its temperature is lowered below its freezing point" Yeah, it was going to freeze there lumpy.

[@brucemillar3015]

I love the ground symbol on your left wrist - cool.

[@TMoody]

I could watch this stuff all day long.

[@ThaRealChuckD]

Very educational. Thanks!

[@RaccoonHenry]

I love the shadow under the pickguard where the original color remains!!

[@Superjet113]

Very good, enjoyed.

[@pamartin]

Great video. Wish I knew this 20 years ago. Cool 60's pawn shop prize that had to be discarded for this very problem... Another case of old too soon, smart too late. Still, great to have this info. Thank you.

[@stewmac]

Now you're prepared for the next pawn shop gem that comes your way!👍

[@noisetv1863]

Cool guitar, nice job

[@TheKoekenaap]

great thx a lot , very informative !!

[@MrDanbecker]

Great Job .Thanks.🙂👍..

[@tee_jay6677]

So interesting to learn about potting pickups. My strat squeels like a brat told no. Lol gotta try this but only after I watch a ton of vids about it. Thanks for the information you provided on your videos.

[@Oxmyx01]

Love that P13 pup! Jump blues time.

[@oqsy]

I did this with a pair of pickups from a squier cv 70’s jaguar and it solved all the squealing feedback. 10/10, no need for new pickups.

[@bluegrassbarry]

good one. thanks.

[@stewsim]

Good video! Taught me a couple of things…thanks! Who is this fella…? I dig his style…😎

[@strat0871]

Thanks !

[@Bobby_Digital37]

Awesomeness!!!

[@thomastommy1192]

Awesome cool video thanks for sharing. Stay well & safe America.

[@LifeSavingDefense]

That was enlightening. 😎

[@flintdavis2]

Easy pease. Thanks

[@hotcakesman]

If you don't have a variable temp crock pot, I went to the dollar store and bought a couple bags of kids marbles. Put them in the wax and let them settle to the bottom. This will help in preventing the plastic of the bobbins from melting. Aquarium glass marbles work good as well!

[@monto39]

The f-holes on that guitar are SO beautiful!

[@mr8ty8]

Love that guitar. Especially the p13 as an p90 fanboy

[@simonlinser8286]

I can't believe you said unplayable guitar my first and for the longest time only guitar sounded like that, but mainly only ground hum when i didn't have contact with the strings or bridge... also it was really good at being an antenna to mains AC...

[@3rdmm]

Very nice looking guitar. It could really do with more old-timey looking knobs, though.

[@davidhellegouarch1622]

Thank you for all the great content that you are sharing on this YT channel !! I have a ground issue with a new guitar. Can you give me your opinion about where this can come from ? Here's what I tried to solve the problem and didn't work : • The noise does not vary depending on the direction of the guitar: it is the same no matter where I am in the room. • The noise increases when my hand or body is precisely touching or close to the part of the guitar located behind the potentiometers.       The sound of "clicks" and significant reduction in background noise only happens in this case.       If the guitar is resting and I touch one of the metal parts, nothing happens.       It's as if there's a strange interaction between what's under the potentiometers and the rest of the guitar • Replacing the jack cable • Connecting the guitar directly on my sound card or to a Helix • Try in another room and the Helix connected to another power source, far from my home studio setup. Even with an independent power source, such as a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). • Try another soundcard (for D.I recording tests) • Try on another guitar with everything else identical → Much less noise, I consider that's an OK amount of noise for a guitar

[@rofflestomp684]

OMG, I had a Silvertone as a child. LOL It came with a built-in ability to warp upon purchase.

[@theticketkiller]

I saw the P-13 in the thumbnail and absolutely had to watch. Never see anything about them!

[@dougfelker6797]

Best repair video I've seen in a while , great jod

[@stewmac]

Thanks 👍 Appreciate the feedback!

[@TheGorillafoot]

I love that guitar

[@dougulman6700]

Really great video....i have heard many tales of a much needed magical combination of beeswax and paraffin..... Stewmac is the final (first, if you're smart!) Word

[@HighTotally420]

I bought micro mesh pads for polishing stones I have since I don’t have a tumbler but it got me thinking what if you guys made micro mesh dremel tips? It would be a lot easier to polish these stones and may be a good idea 🤷 if you think it is a good idea feel free to use it

[@CareerDropout.]

I miss doing stuff like this on guitars

[@chocolatecookie8571]

Something happened that prevents you doing it again?

[@CareerDropout.]

@@chocolatecookie8571 not the focus right now… I ended up working a job I don’t care for after being low balled of any of the work done as a luthier … I sold cables, repaired guitars, fixed amps etc. . . Got tired of my pricing not being respected, also not knowing how to market anywhere else beside locally.

[@chocolatecookie8571]

@@CareerDropout. okay bro, take care. 🙏

[@CareerDropout.]

@@chocolatecookie8571 thanks. That and debt lol I hate debt because it takes away from “adult arts and crafting”

[@chocolatecookie8571]

@@CareerDropout. yeah, debt needs to be taken care of. High stress factor. The guitar world is a bit a fantasy world/kinder garten for adults. But reality keeps spinning round. Have a good day ✌️

[@BigCleverName]

I have wax-shellac finish made by zinsser and I wanted to know if I could use that to wax pot pickups

[@michaellassley30]

What year is that mail order catalog page? The amp in the picture was my first amp. It was fierce when you plugged into the mic input. The best guess is a Valco, but not it's age. Your picture shows the first image of this amp I've seen.

[@DouggieDinosaur]

To be honest, I died a little on the inside @10:27 - LIKED - SUBSCRIBED !! ^_^

[@georgejetson1923]

I noticed you didn't remove the cover from the pickup, did you just wipe all the wax off the top of the cover while it was still hot? I ask this because I have some covered pickups and was wondering if I had to de solder the cover and remove the cover before dipping in the wax or can I leave it on and dip the whole thing?....Thanks

[@mattrogers1946]

I think there's an acceptable amount of micophonics in these old pickups that gives them a unique character.

[@stewmac]

Me too! These are unique guitars and some of the quirky characteristics are part of their charm. This one was bad enough that I felt it was necessary to address the issue. Thanks!

[@juanarmeroiii5532]

how much did you feel it affected the tone? I LOVE the sound of my Teisco single coils but it can pretty out of control at high gain. they handle it really well and sound amazing until you stop playing lol. Scared they will not sound as good.@@stewmac

[@JosePineda-jn8jk]

⁠@@juanarmeroiii5532not sure if they’d respond at this point but, I guess what is it worth to you? If you like the sounds on cleans and maybe some low gain stuff then don’t chance it. If you really want them to be high gain compatible then you have that decision to make but, in truth the properties you like from the pickup come from the winding and magnet combination, not the wax that cannot interact with the magnetic field at all.

[@clivesilk3501]

Better to eradicate any microphonic noise

[@adam5744]

Would grounding the pots too help with some of the noise, not sure they were grounded as well

[@stewmac]

The pots were already grounded to the rest of the circuit, the only thing missing was the string ground. Thanks!

[@franciscolopez3229]

May I ask sir, what causes that humming sound and is there a way to eliminate this without changing the pickups? But anyway, thank you so much for I have learned how to fix the microphonic problem on my guitar. Nice sounding guitar by the way.

[@stewmac]

Most of the hum you hear is normal electronic interference that all single coils are subject to. It sounds a little worse because the amp was turned up loud around a lot of bright lights. With the string ground in place and turned down to a normal volume it was quite manageable. The only way in this case to make a more significant improvement would be to switch to a humbucking pickup. The coils in a humbucker are wired in such a way to cancel out a lot of this noisy interference. Thanks!

[@franciscolopez3229]

@@stewmac Thank you sir for explaining. The reason I asked is because a friend of mine has this very old Strat and he was asking me what can be done about it. I told him that these are common with strats, I even told him to listen to some live playing of Jimi Hendrix and sounds the same. What I did was I grounded the amp and that static humming was gone even without touching the strings. He's just playing in the house anyway, I'm not sure if it is safe to do same thing on stage.

[@stewmac]

@@franciscolopez3229 Amplifiers carry lethal voltage, I don't recommend making any modifications on amplifiers unless you know exactly what you're getting in to. May want to consult an amp tech on this one...Be Safe!

[@stockholm1752]

DC resistance goes up with temperature? So, “hot” isn’t an arbitrary term for a louder sounding pickup - it derives from an actual, physical condition? I always seem to get electronics stuff backwards, though. Maybe that’s wrong.

[@stewmac]

Great question! I've never made that connection, and I'm not sure one relates to the other, but it does make sense!

[@stockholm1752]

@@stewmac 🤔 If you guys don’t know, I guess we never will. Oh, well. Thanks!

[@Xxmeca421xX]

I have a 60s Teisco with gold foils. I'm too afraid I'll break it

[@iridios6127]

The howling guitar from the combos is not a microphone effect, it is acoustic feedback with guitar deck.

[@Vykk_Draygo]

Microphonic. From Wikipedia: Microphonics, microphony, or microphonism describes the phenomenon wherein certain components in electronic devices transform mechanical vibrations into an undesired electrical signal

[@lonewolffgrey8983]

❤❤❤

[@sea-ferring]

Two questions. Why didn't you use beeswax? And what is the difference between this kind of microphonic pickup and the kind that artists like Neil Young use on purpose?

[@stewmac]

Great questions! Beeswax does work well and many people do use it. Most commonly in combination with paraffin: 80% to 20% beeswax. Nothing wrong with beeswax and many people feel it is more flexible than paraffin when hardened and it provides a "warmer" tone. I've used both and have not noticed a difference. Paraffin is cheap and easy to find, so I stick with it. There are two kinds of feedback in my opinion: Unstable microphonic feedback that you heard here, and musical feedback that you get a high gain. Musical feedback is controllable and generally adds to your tone in the form of sustain, microphonic feedback overpowers everything and is unpredictable and offensive to the ear. Thanks!

[@sea-ferring]

@@stewmac Thank you so much. I truly appreciate the response. The interesting thing in the case of the bridge pickup that Neil Young uses in his black LP is that he uses it mostly musically but it can also sound like an explosion. Check out the song Eldorado from the Freedom album at around 4:40 - it's a crazy sound but I love it so much. This is from an interview with Larry Cragg, his long time guitar technician: "...Young's trademark ax Old Black, a '53 Gold Top Les Paul some knothead daubed with black paint eons ago. Old Black's features include a Bigsby wang bar, which pulls strings and bends notes, and a Firebird pickup so sensitive you can talk through it. It's a demonic instrument. "Old Black doesn't sound like any other guitar," said Cragg, shaking his head."

[@johngeddes7894]

“Little known fact that Neil Young allegedly was barred from playing any Stratocaster, due to frivolous lawsuits that was upheld in some kangaroo court.”

[@hugodavila5879]

Was excited on black friday 10% off sign up text messages . Put fret dress deluxe tool set, featherweight digital caliper, fret end dressing file and light guage nut file kit only to get $3.83 discount , guess ill just keep waiting for a good deal . Shipping charge is terrible so i figured id try to order as much as i might be able to afford instead of ordering throught the years on tools.i have alot of amazon guitar tools not as good but affordable and no shipping

[@stewmac]

Hi Hugo! This often happens when you are purchasing a product with multiple discounts available. Discounts don't usually stack, so if the part was already on sale for more than the 10%, it defaults to the highest available discount. Feel free to contact customer service through our website if you have any other questions. Thanks!

[@willallen7757]

Impressive. It was obnoxious at first, my dog got up and left the room.

[@bradleyshuppert3393]

The hum is a poor power supply to the amp and fluorescent lighting too. The potting works… but 60 cycle hum and noise from cell phones and even your watch can still be “picked up” and translated to noise. Potting robs some tone and takes away from the overall feedback loop or sound projected by the speaker back to the guitar that hears the room as well. A tightly wound pickup will not need potting. Older cheaper pickups benefit from potting due to modern gain and amps. Old PAFs were wound right with no potting and worked with a guitar to hear the hardware, hands, pickup springs and rings, and the sound in the room from the amp…. That is where the real magic is…. Not potting

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

A Railhammer Pickup would've been a good upgrade for this Guitar, like the Hyper Vintage Humbucker.

[@IIIElijah]

Van Halen memories.

[@PLBIV]

a Silverstone acoustic electric that's super noisy and is considered "unplayable"..... jack white has entered the chat!

[@hadleymanmusic]

Bout 3 dips

[@RockStarOscarStern634]

This Guitar needed a String Ground anyhow

[@johnhowe4079]

If you look at the add you can see below the $89.50, you can put $9 down to get that guitar. hehe

[@Krullmatic]

You can get a noise gate, and get the rest of that hum out of there.

[@williardbillmore5713]

You seem to talk about "wax" as though there is only one kind of wax and all wax is the same. Gulf Wax that is cheap to buy at any food store is paraffin and it liquifies at about 99 degrees F Too low. Stage lighting for one thing can get at least that hot and many parts of the country have weather that hot as well. You don't want paraffin dripping out of your guitar on a hot day. Bees wax costs quite a bit more but melts to a liquid at around 165 degrees F. That would be too hot and may melt the bobbin. Generally it is accepted that potting should be done using about 20% bees wax and 80% paraffin which will yield a melting temp of about 140 degrees F. High enough to remain stable under most all weather and stage temperature extremes and cool enough to not melt the plastic bobbin. Do a little research before you go giving instructions to those who don't know.

[@AirHam]

Close your eyes this guy sounds like Tom Hanks

[@stewmac]

Tom Hanks is an American treasure...

[@raycochrane3971]

Hum & feedback from an old single coil in semi acoustic right next to an amp? Natural & normal...in fact desirable. Grounding - fair enough safety 1st.

[@stewmac]

Good point, Ray! A certain amount of feedback is normal and desirable. This one was happening for me regardless of volume and distance from the amp. I felt potting was needed to get it under control. A string ground is technically grounding out the player, the human body is an excellent antenna and this helps tame some of that noise. With the way wiring was in the 40's, doing this then would have made the guitar less safe. Thanks!

[@SixStringJoy]

I was promised an easy fix, that doesn’t look easy at all with the crock pot, laser meter multi meter hour and a half risk of fire and damage to pickup - looks like a job for a guitar tech lol😅

[@bernieporteous6557]

𝐩яⓞ𝓂𝓞Ş𝐦 😬

[@ruzcelbeltran]

1st

[@ruzcelbeltran]

Its been awhile when the last time i watched their video

[@marions.120]

Stupid commercials!

[@fdfsdfsvsfgsg4888]

Could live without the incessant background "music", to be honest.